Weymouth mayor appoints two to new SouthField board

Weymouth Mayor Susan Kay made her two appointments Wednesday to the new board of directors overseeing SouthField.

Cody Shepard The Enterprise @cshepard_ENT

WEYMOUTH – A day after Mayor Susan Kay stressed the importance of quickly forming the new Southfield Redevelopment Authority, she made her two appointments to the board.

Kay is responsible for appointing two members to the nine-member board that replaces the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp. under new legislation. The board will oversee the redevelopment of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station.

On Wednesday, she appointed Pat O’Leary and Walter Flynn Jr., both Weymouth residents who currently serve on committees in town.

O’Leary currently serves on the Community Preservation Committee and she is the chairwoman of the Library Trustees. She was previously a management analyst for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Flynn, a retired Marine, is a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient. He served two tours in Vietnam from 1966 to 67 and 1970 to 71. He was previously a management and budget analyst for the City of Boston, the assistant commissioner of administration and finance for the Department of Veterans Services and president of the Old Colony Council. He is currently the chairman of the town’s planning board.

“Both of them will be able to pull this group together to be able to get along well,” Kay said. “They will have to make vast decisions and get it moving for the benefit of the communities. They both get the big picture. I’ve always been very impressed with both of them.”

Kay said Tuesday that it was important for her to make her appointments as soon as possible.

“We’ve got to get this up and running,” she said.

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce suggested Ralph Rivkind, who has lived in Norwell for 37 years. The chamber’s board of directors will take a vote Sept. 4 to appoint him. The Abington selectmen appointed Christopher Aiello, the town’s appointee to Tri-Town, on Monday.

The nine-member board now has four appointments, leaving five spots left.

Rockland Town Administrator Allan Chiocca said Tuesday the selectmen hope to make their appointments at a Sept. 2 meeting. The selectmen will also, jointly with Kay, appoint a member of the SouthField Neighborhood Association.

The Norfolk County Labor Council and SouthField Neighborhood Association can each appoint one member.

Although the towns have until Oct. 19, the board’s first task will be creating a budget as they are currently operating with a temporary budget through Sept. 30.